artdes173

[artdes173]

For this final project, I chose an in-between version of the topic. I kind of imitated Elliott Erwitt’s style, but I did so with more animals than just dogs because 1) I did not want to ask too many people to let me take a picture of their dog because I get anxious, and 2) I do not know enough people with a dog in Ann Arbor at the moment. To make it closer to his style, I made all of my pictures black and white. In addition to being black and white, Erwitt’s photographs are a little bit blurry so I both increased the ISO and set a faster shutter speed. For these images, I walked around and looked for animals to take pictures of. In another instance, I went to the park with my friend to look for other shots.

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Steve McCurry’s main goal is to capture the reality of the world weather is pretty or tough to look at. Detroit is an interesting place that I’ve always been confused and intrigued by. The city is beautiful, modern, and full of art. The outskirts are the stereotypical “Detroit” with abandoned places and broken things. But I learned through this project that that the broken outskirts are what inspire the artistic city.

- Riya Patel

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The type of photos that I wanted to mimic were largely Rodchenko’s urban photos. These photos usually highlighted some aspects of strong repetition, as well as also featuring raw steel beams and industrial subject matters. I decided to shoot in black and white because all of his work was also in black and white, and I felt that it lets the viewer focus more on patterns and light that may otherwise get caught up in variety of color. I wanted to capture the more brutal and empty urban nature of a lot of his work. I walked all over campus looking for strong examples of repetition especially if they featured strong lines and steel. 

Nicolas Pereira

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I included some shots I took after it rained at night because they reminded me of the picture of the building on the slide before with the lights and colors and some of the other pictures that Andreas Gursky has taken at night. His pictures in the nighttime are very dark with color coming from light so I really liked how those pictures came out and wanted to include them.

- Stephanie Sheehan

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I love Ansel Adams’ work because of the dramatic black and white and the emotional response each photograph gives to its viewers. His photography also emphasizes having the whole range of blacks and whites. I tried to duplicate that range as well as the overall feeling his images give. I edited images of landscapes that I had previously taken to give the Ansel Adams effect. Although I tried to get my images as close to his as possible, I also just stopped editing when I felt I was happy with the product (which I think is something Adams would do as well).

-Maya

[artdes173]

somewhere to disappear

Somewhere to Disappear was very interesting to watch because there was constant geographical movement to capture photographs that depicted different feelings including love and loneliness that have a deeper meaning relating to socio-political themes. I was amazed at how all of that was able to be present in Soth’s photography. All of that requires planning and a vision of what it is that the photographer wants the photograph to depict. 

I find Soth’s work incredible yet subtle as well, which is powerful. In the film/documentary, Soth mentions that the subject of his photography relates to “retreating from the world.” From the documentary and collection of photographs on the website, there is a variety of themes that are present, and it definitely depicts the sentiments that Soth wanted to come across in the photographs. 

Also, I agree with Soth’s comment that photography is “more like poetry than an essay.” There is something special about photography; like a poem, photographs can be interpreted in different ways based on who is the one that is viewing them. In that way, it can be beautiful and powerful to someone while to others it is not interesting and meaningless. Soth’s photography being distant from worldly concepts creates a wide array of perspectives for any audience viewing his photography. The diversity in the photographs is so essential to understanding where Soth’s photography is coming from and what it is alluding to. 

Soth’s photography is very meaningful, and after watching this documentary, it is clear that he is passionate about finding the perfect location and time to photograph what he has planned. This is what speaks to the people who view his photographs because there is so much to understand and see through his photography. If Soth did not dedicate time for his photographs or if he was not passionate about his work, the photographs he has published would not be as equally distinctive as they are because he does all that. 

-Angelica

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Somewhere to Disappear

Soth is a very interesting photographer, his curiosity drives his work. He genuinely wants to know what the lifestyle out there is like and connect with the people that live there. I do not think Soth takes advantage of his subjects because he connects with them beforehand and learns about their story. Soth is very understanding and tries his best to make the subjects feel like friends rather than subjects. If he did not do that, then it could be considered as taking advantage.

Prior to watching this documentary, I was very conflicted about how I would approach people in Detroit and ask them if I could take pictures for my final project. I was very nervous because I did not want them to feel like subjects or as if I was merely taking advantage of them. But I learned from Soth that the key is to listen and try to build a small connection with them. That helps me as a photographer understand what exactly I am taking a picture of and broaden my perspective. I will now try this out in Detroit.

I agree that photography is more like poetry than an essay because photography flows in any direction it wants to just like poetry. In contrast,  an essay  is very structured and has to follow a specific format.

Riya Patel

[artdes173]

somewhere to disappear reflection

In “Somewhere to Disappear,” we get to see a behind-the-scenes perspective of Alec Sloth’s “Broken Manual” collection. Personally, I really enjoyed watching this movie, as it offered a glimpse into both the arduous physical and mental nature that photographing challenging subjects can have. Alec is physically lugging around this massive film camera while also managing personalities and juggling with the ethics behind his shooting. There were some questionable moments during the films, such as when Alec intrudes into the abandoned cave with the white walls and begins to rearrange the cabinets. That being said, I don't think his work necessarily takes advantage of his subjects. The stories of these subjects wouldn't otherwise be told if it weren't for artists like Alec, and so long as Alec is portraying his subjects accurately, I don't feel that he is taking advantage of subjects. In general, I think what really resonated with me was Alec's motive behind this project. He described that as a kid, he would fantasize about living in a cave and escaping from society. Now as an adult, you can tell this childhood idea still has a lot of meaning to him, so much so that he was motivated to find himself in others. I think my favorite and most powerful photography occurs when artists challenge themselves to "see" themselves in the outer world, and I think Alec does that masterfully here.

- Justin Shim

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Somewhere to Disappear Response

Alec Soth’s work speaks to people exactly the way he described it in this documentary. He was not attempting to capture the fantasy of escaping rather the feeling or desire that people have to escape to a fantasy. His collection of photos captured the lifestyles of people living extremely abnormal lives on the fringe of society interacting with little to no people year to year. It’s so strange and so unbelievable, however, it gives you this feeling where you can relate to the hermit and their obscene desire to be alone, free, and live the most simplistic of lives. The images that we see are completely unfamiliar but the feelings that we get when viewing the images are relatable in a frightening way.

I would say that Alec Soth was definitely taking advantage of his subjects but not necessarily in a bad way. Alec became a part of his subjects lives for a short amount of time in a non-invasive way. In doing so, his subjects could vent their entire stories to someone who wanted to listen. When it came to the man with the boarded-up windows and “No Trespassing” signs all over, it seemed like he wanted nothing more in life than for someone to care about him and finally, someone (Alec) did. I believe he had a positive impact on the lives of his subjects, however, the sole purpose of Alec’s interaction with the subject was to further his creative project which I would consider taking advantage.

-Mason Faculak

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Reflection on Alec Soth: Somewhere To Disappear

This is a very interesting movie. This movie is basically a short documentary on how Alec Soth’s project, “Broken Manual”, is created (just like how Guillaume, my presentation artist, also created a short documentary on how he created the project “Retracing our Steps”). I enjoyed watching the artist walk us through how he created his artwork as I think that really helped the audience to learn more about the stories behind the photograph and the photographer’s uncanny techniques. 

I do not agree with the statement about Soth taking advantage of his subjects. Through the movie we can see that he actually spends a lot of time talking to his subjects and becoming friends with them. His subjects are men that have already lost trust towards the world, they can hardly believe and accept anyone, thus run away from society to the margin of the world. Those people are not people that you can easily take advantage of, especially the man that even Soth himself finds very dangerous. If I have to say, I would say that the advantage was taken bidirectionally. Soth benefits from his subjects by getting the chance to dig deep into their life and beliefs. While his subjects benefits from Soth by having the chance to tell the world how they are like and why they run away. With Soth’s visiting, they also get the chance to enjoy the human interaction that they chose to give up. Humans are social animals, so it is our nature to long for interactions with others. Thus, I believed that this project not only helped Soth fulfill one of his dreams to explore the margins of society but also introduced us to the unique and fascinating characters that live in his photos.

Celine Chou

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Somewhere to Disappear Response

I think a photographer’s job is to give voice to the unheard and foster appreciation and attention to a certain way something is. The best photography is nuanced in the way it approaches it’s subject, it exposes another side. I think Alec Soth’s photography reveals the truths that certain men live, and it doesn’t romanticize or trivialize their lifestyle or decisions. I think his photography in the movie revolves around the pain and beauty that comes from solitude. Through his photography, because of what he chooses to capture, you can feel his desire for escapism, his admiration for the subject he’s taking pictures of. At first, I thought the way he was taking pictures of different men all of whom who have been wounded some way into solitude was coming from an insensitive curiosity, but then I realized that these stories seemed really personal to Soth, although I still feel mixed about the way he approached and interacted with people.

I like how Soth conveys the isolation in non typical ways, such as focusing on the corner of a room that’s cluttered and also in typical ways such as placing the men in the wilderness. I appreciate the nuance his photography has and I feel like it’s hard to describe but I would love to capture mood in the way he does.

Miranda Felty

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Somewhere to Disappear

I enjoyed this film and watching how Soth fulfilled the concept he wanted. Though Soth uses his subjects to fulfill a specific purpose, I don’t necessarily think he takes advantage of them. He seems very aware of the photographers that do take advantage of their subjects and seems to try to avoid doing that. He doesn't use his subjects and then forget about them, he talks to them, sometimes checks on them, and makes sure they are comfortable with what he is doing. I feel that Soth puts his subjects at ease and knew how to interact with them to make them feel comfortable. I feel that would be an important thing to apply to my own work.

I think Soth’s comment about photography being more like poetry than an essay makes sense in that there is a lot of interpretation involved in photography and poetry. And those interpretations can vary across people. An essay, rather, often gives a lot of detail and the author has enough space to provide the reader with the story interpretation they want. However, a photo is a moment in time and there is only so much a single photo can say without at least some of it being left up to interpretation.

-Maya

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Somewhere to Disappear

- Stephanie Sheehan

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Somewhere To Disappear

-Camryn Bullock

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Somewhere to Disappear

I agree with the idea that photography is more like poetry than an essay. I would argue that films are closer to an essay. Photography does not always have the full story laid out, but instead allows to viewer to interpret them. Together, a collection of photos acts similarly to a collection of poems to me.

I think a photographer serves as someone who helps capture moments in time. Without photography, those images would be lost. While we have art forms like painting, we would lose the ‘perfect’ image that helps to tell stories of life in specific moments.

I felt a little weird about the relationship between Soth and his subjects. It seemed as though they wanted to be off grid, and by photographing them he slightly violates that. However, I do think the idea of photographing the things that we don’t usually see is quite intriguing.

I think that I would like to do more off-grid photography in the future. I just got hiking boots and this film got me excited about the possibility of getting away from society to photograph nature. I would like to document parts of my travels that people don’t get to see normally.

-Ashton Doyle

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Somewhere to Disappear

It is always great to learn about ways others use photography to communicate something bigger than themselves. I enjoyed watching Somewhere to Disappear because it was very inspiring to me how Alec Soth wanted to tell the stories of those forgotten by society, those that are not normally seen, that decided to hide away from the American Dream. In the film, we could see a diverse range of characters ranging from a person living in the dessert with horses and kids hiding from nazis. I admired how Soth found inspiration in documenting escapism and the result was beautiful photographs that are famous worldwide. I also found it very interesting to learn about the equipment he carried around and used.

Going forward, I believe I would like to learn from Soth how to make people I do not know comfortable while taking pictures. In this film, we are watching how people who have decided to get away from society feel somewhat comfortable with Alec. They tell him their stories and allow him to take their photographs. That is very brave and admiring. I believe that by now, I feel confident taking pictures of people I know but when they are strangers, I feel very awkward sometimes.  

- Gaby

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Response to: Somewhere to Disappear

I resonated with the idea that photography is more like poetry than an essay. It rang true to me because I often don't feel like a photo tells something discrete or concrete even, but rather it replicates a feeling or an environment, a moment in time that is preserved. In the same way with poetry photography can have conventions or standard methods that are generally agreed upon, but there is still total freedom to create as you wish. There just isn't the same freedom present when writing an essay.

I think Soth has a great presence and he is able to capture moments and places that would otherwise be left unknown to most people. I think his photos (especially those shown in this documentary) almost feel like small peaks into hidden corners of society and I think that really resonates with people. Even Alec talked about the almost voyeuristic and inappropriate feeling that can be felt when taking/looking at his photos.

One way I would hope I could incorporate Soth’s work into my own is just via the way he is able to interact with anyone of any walk of life of any background, and still allow them to express themselves. It is truly incredible the people that he is able to find and gain enough rapport with to take their photos so honestly.

Nicolas